The two of them both looked toward the two figures storming aggressively toward them.
Jiang Lu's heart skipped a beat. Had her master not explained the situation to Sect Master Shi at all?
Judging by this posture, they looked more like they were coming to demand answers.
Jiang Lu shifted her feet and took two steps back, hiding behind her master. Peeking out with half her head, she unconsciously gripped the robes around her master's waist tightly.
“Ye Qing, this is really unfair of you. To think I was just cross-referencing the head count with your Medicine King Pavilion's Grand Elder a few days ago, and we couldn't get the numbers to match. It turns out you were secretly hiding one all along?”
Elder Wen of the Liuyun Sect stepped forward, pointing right at Ye Qing's nose as he spoke, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Jiang Lu, who was peeking out with half her head. She looked somewhat familiar.
He rubbed his eyes as a realization struck him.
He nudged Shi Yan with his elbow and jutted his chin, gesturing for the Sect Master to look over.
Shi Yan was taken aback. He followed the gaze to look at Jiang Lu, who immediately shrank back.
Shi Yan's heart skipped a beat. Why did that figure look so familiar?
With a flash of his figure, he appeared right next to Jiang Lu in the next instant.
He reached out and hauled Jiang Lu out. With her feet dangling in the air, she was pulled from behind Ye Qing like a little chick.
Shi Yan's voice carried a suppressed depth. “Raise your head.”
Dangled by his grip, Jiang Lu had guiltily lowered her head. Startled by his command, she looked up, revealing a face full of guilt, her large eyes looking at him tearfully.
Seeing his face half-darkened with anger, she thought to herself that she was doomed.
She raised her hand to give a stiff wave, forcing a rigid smile as she looked at him and whispered, “Heh~”
Shi Yan was speechless.
Wasn't this the little girl Fu Yao had brought back?
No wonder she had said she didn't need to take a master!
She already had a master, so why on earth would she apprentice herself to anyone else!
“Jiang Ye, so it was you all along.”
After a brief internal struggle and a debate between his left and right brain, he finally let go of Jiang Lu.
He placed a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. After all, she was brought back by Fu Yao, so he shouldn't terrify her. He would ask Fu Yao what was going on later.
No wonder he couldn't see through this girl's fate, and no wonder it was said that staying here would be a good thing.
Calming his tone slightly, he glanced at Ye Qing, then turned back to Jiang Lu.
“Little girl, what is going on here?”
Standing in place, Jiang Lu looked at her master, then at Shi Yan. With a sigh, she selectively recounted the story of how she had run into Fu Yao and the others.
“Are you saying you hesitated when you wanted to say you had a master, but in their eyes, that meant your master had perished?”
Shi Yan's tone was filled with disbelief.
Was he going crazy?
Or had the world gone mad?
How could anyone actually believe such a clumsy misunderstanding?
And the one who believed it was his highly anticipated eldest disciple, no less!
“That is indeed the truth.”
Jiang Lu gave an embarrassed laugh and instantly lowered her head again.
Ye Qing pulled Jiang Lu behind him and let out a soft snort.
Then, he slung his arm over Shi Yan's shoulder, patted it twice, and winked at him.
“I say, Senior Brother Shi, what's between us? It's not like my senior sister didn't give you a heads-up. She already gave you a greeting beforehand. Is all this really necessary?”
Tsk~
Seeing Ye Qing act this way, Elder Wen curled his lip. Well, this matter was going to be swept under the rug again.
Their Sect Master was great in every aspect, but he had absolutely no resistance when Ye Qing acted like this. Who could blame him when Ye Qing had saved his life?
Though the two of them sometimes bickered like cats and dogs, their Sect Master truly doted on Ye Qing like a real younger brother.
He turned his head, looking at Jiang Lu with eyes full of grievance. Remembering the task his disciple had asked him to help with, he let out a long sigh.
What a colossal mess this was!
Sensing a burning gaze, Jiang Lu followed the look and saw Elder Wen's deeply resentful eyes on his naturally aged face. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.
She hadn't provoked Elder Wen, had she? Why was he looking at her like that?
“Hmph—”
Shi Yan glanced at him, snorted softly, and ignored him.
Ye Qing shifted his steps closer to him again, staring at him intently.
Before long, Shi Yan admitted defeat. Seeing Ye Qing's eyes, he looked away.
“Fine, fine. Let this be the last time.”
Waaah~
Next time!
Next time, he would definitely refuse Junior Brother Ye!
He swore!
This was the absolute last time he would let him off easy!
Elder Wen was speechless.
He could only scoff inwardly. Some things were better left unsaid.
“Since that's the case, my disciple has imposed on you for many days. I'll be taking her back today. In a while, my apprenticeship ceremony will be held, and I will send invitations to everyone. Senior Brother Shi, remember to come!”
With that, before the two of them could react, he grabbed Jiang Lu and bolted.
“Eh— Master...”
Jiang Lu was utterly bewildered and was about to ask curiously, but she was immediately cut off by Ye Qing halfway through her sentence.
“We'll talk when we get back.”
He couldn't let those two snap out of it; he still hadn't paid for the damages!
Within a few breaths, the two of them had completely left the Liuyun Sect.
By the time Shi Yan and Elder Wen snapped out of it, there was no sign of the two of them.
“Ye Qing— I'm not done with you!”
Shi Yan's thunderous, furious roar caused the entire building to tremble slightly.
Elder Wen curled his lip and turned to leave expressionlessly.
The Sect Master's words at times like this were only meant to be heard; whoever took them seriously was a fool.
With that, he walked away with steady, measured strides.
Within Xuwu City—
Looking at the spiritual message sent by Shi Yan, Ye Qingluan expressionlessly replied with a simple, “Oh.”
Now he knew to look for her when things went wrong?
Back when she was disciplining Ye Qing, who were the ones that stopped her one by one, making her out to be the bad guy?
Now that the boomerang had hit them back, they knew to tell her to discipline him properly?
Serves them right.
The two of them would likely be back soon anyway. She wanted to see for herself what was so special about her junior brother's disciple.
Ye Qing's carriage was suspended in mid-air. The three flood dragons pulling it in front hovered in place, the chains on their bodies clanking repeatedly.
Clank, clank—
Unleashing waves of pressure, the surrounding creatures scattered in all directions.
“Wh... What?”
Ye Qing sat up abruptly from his daybed, looking at Jiang Lu in astonishment. He wanted to spot a trace of guilt on her face, but Jiang Lu looked completely serene.
“Say that again. What is your current strength?”
Seeing her master's flabbergasted state, Jiang Lu released a sliver of Golden Core aura from her fingertips, which swirled around her body.
“Master, Golden Core cultivation. It's real.”
Jiang Lu's tone was calm, as if she were simply stating what she had eaten for breakfast.
But to Ye Qing's ears, it was an entirely different story.
He grabbed Jiang Lu's wrist and probed her meridians.
Then, his eyes widened in shock.
She indeed had the strength of the first layer of the Golden Core realm, with a solid foundation, and she even seemed to be on the verge of breaking through again.
“How is this possible?”
He frowned. It wasn't that he didn't believe in his disciple's talent, but he and Jiang Lu had only been separated for a mere year.
One year.
From Qi Condensation to Golden Core?
Rate on N.U.
